South Korea’s government is planning a 4.6% hike in defense spending in next year’s budget as part of efforts to bolster deterrence, strengthen the country’s defense industry, increase soldiers’ wages and improve capabilities to counter a potential North Korean attack.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) in Seoul announced a proposed budget of 57.1 trillion won ($42.3 billion), which will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval on Friday. It envisages 17.17 trillion won — or a 2% increase — to strengthen overall military capabilities and 40.2 trillion won — a 5% rise — to cover the cost of running the armed forces.
The former outlay includes 6.64 trillion won to advance a number of development and acquisition projects, including the third mass-production run of K2 Black Panther battle tanks, the construction of FFX Batch III guided-missile frigates, and the procurement of reserve combat ammunition.